Weekend Rundown: Rivera Ends Cullum’s KOTC Reign

Once beaten Team Tiger Schulmann standout Jimmie
Rivera defeated Abel Cullum
by split decision to win the King of the Cage flyweight
championship at KOTC “No
Mercy” on Friday at the MGM Grand Casino at Foxwoods in
Mashantucket, Conn. Two of the three cage-side judges scored it
49-46 for Rivera; a third cast a dissenting vote, 48-47 for
Cullum.

The loss was Cullum’s first in nine KOTC appearances. He had held
the promotion’s 135-pound crown for more than two years.

Rivera outworked the champion in the clinch, counterpunched
effectively and scored with timely takedowns in the third and
fourth rounds. Cullum, perhaps sensing his title was slipping from
his grip, picked up his pace in round four with punches to the head
and kicks to the body. Still, he could not get Rivera to the floor,
where the tide might have swung more dramatically in his favor, and
by the end of the 25-minute encounter, the challenger had done
enough to sway two of the three judges.

Meanwhile, KOTC bantamweight champion Donald
Sanchez retained his title with a first-round rear-naked choke
submission against Pat McGreal.
The end came 2:27 into round one, as Sanchez locked in a standing
choke, followed McGreal to the ground and waited for the
tapout.

Magno
Almeida submitted World Extreme Cagefighting castaway Mike
Campbell with a first-round rear-naked choke in the Classic
Entertainment and Sports “First Blood” main event on Friday at
the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I. Campbell waved the
white flag 4:03 into round one. “First Blood” was the first
sanctioned mixed martial arts event held in the state of Rhode
Island.

Almeida dragged Campbell to the floor, secured a body triangle and
survived an attempted spike from the Team Sityodtong
representative. The 25-year-old Brazilian tried three times to lock
in the choke before cinching the fight ending hold with less than a
minute left in the first period.

Unbeaten as a professional, Almeida has delivered submissions in
six of his seven victories, the last three of them inside one
round. The defeat snapped a two-fight winning streak for Campbell,
who had beaten recent UFC signee Yves Edwards
by unanimous decision under the Moosin MMA banner in May.

International Fight League veteran Eduardo
Pamplona posted his eighth consecutive victory, as he defeated
UFC exile Edilberto
de Oliveira at Jungle
Fight 22 on Saturday at the Geraldo Jose de Almeida Gymnasium
in Sao Paulo, Brazil … Adrenaline MMA veteran Sasuke
Zapata submitted Richie
McCloskey with a second-round armbar under the
Atlas Fights banner on Thursday at the Hard Rock Casino in
Biloxi, Miss. McCloskey surrendered 3:32 into round two … Pride
Fighting Championships veteran Shungo Oyama
choked Brian
Gassaway unconscious with a first-round triangle choke at
Martial
Combat 10 on Thursday in Sentosa, Singapore. Oyama, who holds
victories against Renzo Gracie
and former UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton,
has not won back-to-back bouts since 2005 … Undefeated Brazilian
Carlos Augusto Inocente Filho needed less than a minute to
dispatch his latest foe, as he knocked out Gustavo Moia
with a knee 40 seconds into round one of their matchup at Shooto
Brazil 18 on Friday at the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia,
Brazil. Filho has finished all five of his opponents, three of them
in the first round.

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